


Like the Wanting in the Movies and the Hymns

by gunpowdereyes (nearlymidnight)



Category: Jane the Virgin (TV)
Genre: 1940s AU, F/F, Rose in suspenders, noir, we'll just all have to pretend that some of this stuff can happen in the 40s and 50s okay?, we're all good at pretending this ship will be happy... dream with me folks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-06
Updated: 2017-02-06
Packaged: 2018-09-22 08:56:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9598583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nearlymidnight/pseuds/gunpowdereyes
Summary: It's 1940s Miami, and Rose is tasked with a special project at work which gives her the opportunity to get to know Luisa Alver, daughter of a real estate tycoon.





	

“And with that, I just wanted to thank everyone for another great year of work. May 1949 bring many exciting, new challenges. Now please, go home to your families and enjoy the time off.”

Rose uncrossed her legs and stood up, tugging on her suspenders before approaching her boss.

“Thanks for another great 'year end send-off’, Jimmy. Maybe next year we can actually wrap this up on time,” she said with a smile as she nudged the man in his late 50s. They had gone over the meeting time by 45 minutes, which was not unusual, but she could tell that the rest of the office was impatient as they were eager to go home early the day before Christmas Eve.

“Oh Ruvelle, you'd think that after 5 years of working here you'd know better. Such an optimist!” Jimmy joked as he walked out of the meeting room with the tall redhead, who was everything but an optimist.

Rose was a hard worker, always willing to help others and take on the most challenging projects. She was great at her job but her boss and colleagues knew that she could be a handful sometimes. They wouldn't call her a pessimist, per se, but the word 'cranky’ had been used to describe her more than once, and everyone knew better than to approach her before her morning cup of coffee. She definitely wasn't one to focus on the possibility of a silver lining, and everyone who knew her would agree.

“Any holiday plans with the wife and kids this year?” Rose asked, slowing to a stop as they approached her office. 

“Oh the usual,” her boss beamed, everyone knew there was nothing that Jimmy Boire loved more than Christmas. “The kids and grandkids are visiting for a couple of days and then the missus and I are heading out to Hawaii just in time for the new year. How about you? Any _real_ plans for Christmas this year?”

Rose clenched her jaw for a brief moment before flashing her boss a fake smile. “Oh you know me, Jimmy, all alone for the holidays! It's a well established tradition now!”

“Invitation still stands, Rose. If you ever want to spend the holidays with my crazy family, you're always welcome,” the man offered with a smile, lightly touching her shoulder.

“Thank you, Jimmy, I really appreciate it.”

She gave her boss a reassuring smile before moving away and walking into her office. 

She looked out the floor to ceiling window behind her desk and let out an audible sigh. Though she had spent many evenings dining at the Boire house and had appreciated her boss’ offer, she really did prefer spending the holidays alone. Christmas had never been a big deal growing up, and she certainly wasn't going to try to make new traditions with the very people that disowned her years ago when they found out she was gay.

The city looked beautiful as the sun set behind the Miami skyline, and for a moment she had let go of the tension brought on by thought of being alone for Christmas, again. She heard her boss cheerfully leave the office with one last goodnight, ‘Merry Christmas’, and ‘Happy New Year’. That was her cue, she thought, as she decided that she should probably be heading out of the office and start enjoying her week off as well.

As she locked the door to her office, she glanced at her watch. _6pm_. It wasn't too late to stop by the bar on her way home, she thought, hoping that maybe the change of scenery would distract her from the fact that she was spending the holidays on her own again.

“Well, well, if it isn’t Rose Ruvelle,” the cheery woman behind the bar greeted her as she sat on a stool at the bar.

“You really enjoy that rhyme don’t you, Angie?” Rose smiled.

“What can I say, you don’t come often enough for me to showcase my other great talents,” she flirted back. The woman was tall, blond, and sporting a tight corset dress that showed a little too much cleavage.

“Oh, you know that if I came in more often, I’d just have to steal you away,” the redhead teased.

“Ms. Ruvelle!” Angie laughed, “I’m a married woman!”

“Are you trying to run away with my wife away again, Rose?” a tall rugged man stepped behind the bar, giving Angie a kiss.

“She is quite a catch, witty remarks and all, but no, Rick, she’s all yours,” she replied, giving him a wide smile as he pulled out a bottle of whiskey to serve her. “Thank you kindly.”

Rose was grateful for few things in life, one of them being that Angie and Rick knew about her sexual orientation and had never been anything but supportive, especially after her parents turned her away. They were good people and she knew she could trust them, even if she did jokingly flirt with the bartender on occasion. Aside from the two of them, the only other person that knew was her boss, who had also taken her in after the fallout with her family.

As she took a sip of her drink, something out of the corner of eye caught her attention. She turned around to see a woman walk in, wearing a blue full skirt dress, red heels, her long brown hair falling over her left shoulder. Rose knew she was staring, but it wasn't until Angie told her to pick her jaw up off the floor that she realised how obvious she was being.

She shifted on the stool, turning herself around so her body was facing the bar once again, forcing herself to look at her drink. The woman was absolutely stunning, but she knew that staring at her might get her into some problems.

“Excuse me,” the brunette said as she approached the bar, “my car broke down about a block away, and I was wondering if I could use your phone to call a mechanic?” 

Before Angie could reply Rose turned to face her and offered, “I can take a look at your car if you'd like.”

She felt a blush start to form as the beautiful woman turned towards her with a smile. “Oh! Are you a mechanic?” she asked as her eyes ran up and down her body with a hint of confusion.

“No, I'm uh,” Rose started as she tripped over her words, “I'm an architect, but my father was a mechanic and he taught me a thing or two about fixing cars.”

“Well, that definitely sounds better than trying my luck and finding a mechanic at 6:30 the night before Christmas Eve!” the brunette stuck her hand out towards Rose, “Luisa Alver.”

“Rose Ruvelle,” she said shaking Luisa's hand, standing up. “Let me pay for my drink and you can show me to your car.”

“It's on the house, sweetie,” Angie quickly replied. “Now go help that pretty girl with her car.”

She picked up her jacket and briefcase and motioned to Luisa to lead the way. As she followed the brunette Rose couldn't help but stare at her beautiful hair and the way her dress moved while she walked down the sidewalk, her heels making a pleasant noise. 

“This is my car,” Luisa stopped suddenly in front of a shiny 1942 Ford Sedan, almost making Rose crash into her. “There was some smoke coming out of it earlier and then it stalled.”

Rose pondered for a second, thinking of everything her dad had taught her and ruling out some possibilities. “Let me just take a quick look,” she said, putting her briefcase on the floor and taking her jacket off.

“Here, let me,” Luisa stretched out her hands, grabbing the jacket off Rose. “The least I can do is hold your stuff while you take a look at my car,” she said, a warm smile on her face.

Rose smiled back, rolling up her sleeves and walking towards the front of the car. She popped open the hood, tinkering around with the engine for a couple of minute before noticing the issue.

“Well I found your problem,” she said, her head completely under the hood and out of Luisa’s sight. “Your fuel hose seems to be loose, which is a pretty simple fix.”

She could hear the sound of Luisa's heels getting closer until she felt a hand on her arm, “would you mind if I went under there with you so you can show me how to fix it?”

Startled by Luisa’s touch, Rose hit her head on the hood, letting out a soft “ouch” before replying, “not at all,” her voice sounding more shaky than she would've liked.

She felt Luisa get closer as she moved herself under the hood, their faces ending up inches away from each other.

Trying to avoid losing herself in the brunette’s eyes, she quickly turned her attention to the hose. “You see this? This is your fuel hose. It's job is to make sure that your engine and your fuel tank talk and make the car run. It seems to have loosened up a bit, which is why your engine stopped. All we need to do is secure it on both ends, and you're good to go,” she explained while re-connecting the hose.

They both ducked out from underneath the hood, Rose closing it before stepping away from the car.

“Thank you so much,” Luisa said, beaming, “I don’t know that I would have been able to get a mechanic out here tonight, and I also get to walk away knowing that I know how to fix my car if this happens again!”

“It was my pleasure,” she replied back, grabbing her coat and briefcase from Luisa, their hands touching briefly bringing a small smile to the brunette and yet another blush to her own face, 

After a short silence the two women exchanged a few “Happy Holidays” and “Merry Christmas” and parted ways.

As she began her walk home, Rose couldn’t help but smile thinking about the beautiful woman. Despite knowing that she would be spending the holidays alone, meeting Luisa had given her something something to hold on to.

At that moment, feeling a wave of bravery, she decided to turn back and ask the woman for her phone number. _She would be nice to have as a friend_ , she told herself, but just as she turned around she saw Luisa’s car drive off.

She laughed at her own indecision, knowing that if she had built up the courage to ask her in the first place she would probably have her number by now. She turned back around, making her way home once again, wondering if she’d have a chance to see the beautiful woman in the blue dress once again.

**Author's Note:**

> The main driving force for this chapter was Rose in suspenders, and my love for the idea of her being an architect.
> 
> I'm sorry for being a horrible tease and giving you little to no Luisa, but I can promise that she will be around more and more.
> 
> (Also a big thank you to the two amazing people who read over this and helped me get here without sounding ridiculous!)


End file.
